Brave Ali Abbas, 27, pictured with little Yusuf after he travelled to Iraq
An orphan who lost both his arms from a missile strike in Baghdad which killed 16 members of his family during the 2003 Gulf War has fathered a baby boy.
The birth is of baby Yusuf is a miracle for Ali Abbas, 27, who was given little chance of survival while being treated for his injuries when aged 12 in an Iraqi hospital.
Ali’s joy today is all the greater after the sadness of events 15 years ago when he suffered horrific first-degree burns after his home was hit by a US missile.
Although immigration laws are currently preventing his wife Zainab from joining him the UK, where he became a citizen in 2010, he is still over the moon with the new arrival.
‘In my darkest moments I could never have imagined that I would become a father one day.’ he told Mirror.co.uk from his home in London.
‘Now Yusuf is my future, my family. Now his arms are my arms. From now for every day of his life I will enjoy watching him do all the things I haven’t been able to do.’
‘But I intend to be a role model for him. While I don’t have my arms, I can still feed him, using my feet, and while I can’t cuddle him, we often lay down together, side by side so I can kiss him.’
Ali has arranged for a baby sling to enable him to hold his son to his chest as an alternative to hugging him.
While Ali is unable to hug baby Yusuf, the doting father has arranged for a sling that will allow him to hold his son to his chest as an alternative to hugging
Ali Ismail Abbas was aged 12 when he was severely wounded during an airstrike on his home in Baghdad – doctors said at the time he would be unlikely to survive
‘After all that has happened in my life, I almost have to pinch myself that he is here. He is the most wonderful, precious gift and I’m determined to be the best father I can possibly be for him.’
Yusuf was born in a central Baghdad hospital on January 23, weighing a healthy 8lb 8oz. He has quickly bonded with his mother Zainab who Ali married last February.
Ali became a British citizen in 2010 and now lives in London. But he visits Iraq on a regular basis, and it was there where he met his 21-year-old wife.
They have been conducting a long-distance relationship and as soon as he heard of his son’s imminent arrival he got on a plane to witness the birth.
Yusuf was born in a central Baghdad hospital on January 23, weighing a healthy 8lb 8oz. He has quickly bonded with his mother Zainab who Ali married last February
‘I got a call from Zainab’s mum at 11pm on January 22 to say she had started having contractions so I booked the next flight out I could,’ he said, ‘although that meant I knew I’d miss the birth.
‘I stayed up all night waiting for the next phone call which came at 3am along with the first picture of Yusuf. I cried and then prayed, thanking God for the news of his safe arrival.
‘I wasn’t due to visit Iraq for a few weeks but I couldn’t wait any longer to meet my son, so hours later I was on a plane to meet him. I just couldn’t believe it when I saw him for the first time.
‘His fingers were so tiny, and such small toes. To have the joy of my own family after all that’s happened was a profound and wonderful moment. I was in tears. I felt so happy, so proud.
‘Zainab was lying on a bed resting when I first walked in and Yusuf was in a crib beside her.
‘She was so shocked because my visit was a surprise.
‘I asked Zainab’s mum if she would lift Yusuf out and put him on my stomach so I could feel his heart beating. It was a very special moment, which I’ll never forget. I gave him lots of kisses.
‘He is such a good baby and everyone says he looks like me… especially the nose. Zainab is breast-feeding Yusuf but we also agreed that so I can feed him too, that he can have some bottles which I hold using my feet.
‘I also use my feet to rock him in his crib to sleep. Those moments are incredibly precious to share with my son and I’m determined to do all that I can.’
Ali came to epitomise the horrors of the Gulf War when the picture of him in his makeshift hospital bed was beamed around the world after the attack.
‘I almost have to pinch myself that he is here’, said Ali. He added that he will enjoy watching his son do all the things he has been unable to do
The dedicated father still manages to rock baby Yusuf to sleep using his feet – and even manages to bottle feed him
A campaign was launched to lobby Prime Minister Tony Blair to allow him to get specialist treatment.
Ali was eventually taken to Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup, South East London, and fitted with artificial arms.
‘While I was born in Iraq, London is now my home now,’ he said as he proudly displayed a Manchester United Red Devils tattoo on his first prosthetic arm. But nowadays he rarely uses his prosthetics, using his feet instead for daily tasks.
But the blast still haunts Ali, who suffered 60% burns and contracted potentially deadly sepsis.
He can sometimes still hear the echoes of his family’s screams as a ceiling and wall fell on them while fire engulfed their home, he said.
Ali was only rescued because a neighbour plucked him as he lay severely injured amid the burning rubble and rushed him off to hospital. His subsequent recovery astonished everyone in Iraq, where he still has stepsisters and an extended family.
Ali was brought to the UK where despite the loss of most of his family he has been able to start a new life
Ali divorced his first wife because of the strain of living in separate countries. However, he met Zainab through family friends on a trip to Baghdad in December 2016 and fell in love again.
‘My extended family knows Zainab’s family well and so we were introduced in that way,’ he said. ‘She is lovely and caring and I felt very relaxed with her from the start. Most importantly, we both wanted children, which is something that has always been my dream.
‘I told her I wanted to try for a child immediately after we were married and she was happy with that. The couple married in a traditional two-day Iraqi ceremony witnessed by 200 family and friends and in May last year Zainab announced she was pregnant.
‘Ali’s joy was tempered only by concerns about coping with yet another long-distance relationship.
Ali did not in his wildest dreams believe that he would one day have a child of his own given the severity of his injuries. He is pictured left playing football with members of the Limbless Association in 2013 and right in 2003, when he was 13, with 14-year-old Ahmed Mohammed Hamza, who lost a leg and right hand in Iraq
‘I have been a British citizen for many years but the Iraqi people are also my people and so it is like living between two worlds.
‘I hope very much Zainab and my son will be able to join me in Britain eventually but that will ultimately be a matter for the Government to decide.’
But for now Ali must cope with being a long-distance husband and father who cannot wait until each new trip. He next plans to see his son in mid March.
He plans on bringing Zainab to be with him in the UK but has not began visa preparations for his wife, who wanted to give birth to Yusuf in his homeland.
Ali must cope with being a long-distance husband and father who cannot wait until each new trip. He next plans to see his son in mid March
During his last visit to meet Yusuf, he also celebrated his 27th birthday on February 9.
‘Having Yusuf was the best birthday present ever.’ he said. ‘Zainab and I kept him very close to us and it was the first time I’ve slept with a smile on my face. I kept waking up in the night and each time I would get up and just gaze at him.
‘It made me think back to being in a hospital bed during the war. I remember overhearing a doctor telling my auntie I was going to die so I never believed I would be here today let alone as a father to a child.’
Remembering his mother who was killed in the Baghdad blast, Ali said: ‘I know she would be so proud of me, Zainab and Yusuf and would have loved to be a grandmother to him.
‘She cannot be here but I am determined to keep her memory alive by telling Yusuf all about her.’
In the meantime, Ali is preoccupied with planning the next visit to his son, when he plans to take with him a special piece of equipment.
‘A friend called and asked what gift I might like to celebrate the new baby. I told her I would like a baby carrier so that Yusuf can be strapped to my chest. That way, he can go everywhere with me, next to my heart.
‘Later I will learn to pick him up with my feet but for now, this will keep him close.’